1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to bottle supports, and more particularly to a bottle holding apparatus for holding a bottle exclusively by its neck, thereby displaying the bottle front below the shoulder. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a rigid removable cup for installation in a wall or other structural substrate that includes resilient internal rings for cushioning and protecting the bottle during storage. The invention can be used with any product packaged in a bottle with a suitably sized neck. This application emphasizes and highlights the advantageous features of the invention in the context of wine bottle storage and presentation.
2. Discussion of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR §§1.97, 1.98
Wine bottles storage techniques frequently strike a balance between two objectives: (1) a proper positioning of the bottle to ensure minimal exposure to oxygen, minimal ullage, and minimal agitation; and (2) an open presentation of the wine label for easy and rapid identification, selection, and obtention of the particular bottle sought. To that end countless wine bottle racks and bottle holding apparatus have been devised. Such bottle holding apparatus often utilize some kind of upright planar member with one or more circular openings that engage the bottle neck and thereby support the bottle. Such apparatus can be seen, for example, in U.S. Des. Pat. No. Des. 250,625, to Leventhal, U.S. Design Pat. No. Des. 253,802 to Loud, et al; U.S. Des. Pat. No. Des. 2,338,310 to Barnes, and U.S. Design Pat. No. 4,496,124, to Cole.
Other pertinent prior art publications notably include U.S. Pat. No. 4,795,028 to Johnson, which teaches a bottle rack that engages the necks of bottles through a plurality of spaced-apart, stalk mounted, bilaterally symmetrical, paired, tapered ring members and rigidly supports bottles in a near horizontal position. The ring members are arranged in front-rear pairs such that the neck of a supported bottle may be inserted through the ring members and engage the tapered end of the front ring member along the lower portion of the bottle neck and the tapered end of the rear ring member along the upper portion of the bottle neck while the bottle is in the near horizontal position. The supported bottle is held rigidly by gravity acting on the bottle and against the four points of contact with the ring members. A support structure provides means for rigidly supporting the rack on a surface or attachment to a wall, or the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,080,743 to Wolseth, discloses a wine bottle rack that includes a base platform and a second substantially rigid wall connected to the base at an obtuse angle and having a plurality of apertures. The apertures are adapted for supporting wine bottles in a cantilevered manner from the rack.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,612 to Thomson shows an X-shaped bipod bottle stand having legs with apertures for receiving the necks of bottles to support the bottles in cantilever fashion.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,496,124 to Cole teaches a bottle support including an oblique prism with a rectangular base and two sets of parallel sides. A hole penetrates the prism through the sides, generally parallel to two of the sides. The center of gravity of the body lies outside the base and the combined center of gravity of the body and bottle lies above the base.
What may not be readily appreciated from a cursory review of the above-identified patents is that prior art bottle supports utilizing non-engineered, circular apertures allow a considerable amount of undesirable lateral movement of bottles. Attempts at reducing that lateral movement typically require the addition of a third point of contact someplace along the neck of the bottle, accomplished either through the use of steep aperture angles or planar member inclination angles. Most such attempts, however, have been largely unsuccessful owing to the fact that the third point is positioned in the same vertical plane as the original two points with respect to the longitudinal axis of the bottle. In addition, the steep angles required cause any sediment in wine bottles to settle in the neck and against the cork and present wine labels in an upside down orientation, which causes some difficulty in reading the labels.
An alternative approach to reducing lateral movement has been directed to using semi-resilient materials such as pressed paper or cardboard for the upright support members, in which event the edges of the supporting opening crush slightly under the load of the supported bottle such that the opening conforms to the shape of said bottle. But it will be appreciated that repeated insertion and removal of bottles causes a deterioration in the integrity of the structure. [See, for instance, Belokin, Jr. U.S. Pat. No. 3,901,389.]
Yet another approach to solving the problem of lateral movement is to use projecting support pegs. But this adds considerable mass to the support structure.
What is needed is a bottle holding apparatus that can be easily incorporated into building materials, so that a bottle display can be made part of a wall or other decorative surface. Such a device should eliminate horizontal and lateral movement in the supported bottles by carefully engineering interior dimensions of the holding apparatus and employing resilient inserts to capture and cushion the bottle neck.
The foregoing patents reflect the current state of the art of which the present inventor is aware. Reference to, and discussion of, these patents is intended to aid in discharging Applicant's acknowledged duty of candor in disclosing information that may be relevant to the examination of claims to the present invention. However, it is respectfully submitted that none of the above-indicated patents disclose, teach, suggest, show, or otherwise render obvious, either singly or when considered in combination, the invention described and claimed herein.